Buick Century: Overheating. Or Is It?
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Date: 2020-08-05
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Comments and reviews: 10
Mr
I had a Subaru legacy blow steam while my daughter was driving it. No matter what I did, it kept overheating. I got on a discussion board and everything said the head gasket on that car is notorious for blowing. So I bought a used engine lift, a stand, a head gasket kit, all new everything, since I was taking it out anyway. Strangely, I saw no evidence of a problem with the head gasket. Anyway, 5000 later and a few days off work I got it all put back together (with new radiator, and coolant bottle that was missing. Started it up and still read boil over on the gauge. I finally, in despair took it to a shop (sweating the whole way that the head gasket was going to blow when I stopped. I got there and had them spray the radiator before I dared shut it off. They put their computer on it and the guy was watching it from under the hood, waiting for it to overheat. I happened to get in the car and the gauge was pegged on red. I got out all excited and told him it was doing it RIGHT NOW! We looked at his screen, and it was sitting right around 190, and you could literally see when the thermostat opened and it cooled off a little. Turned out that the actual problem had been the missing coolant overflow bottle, and everything I did was basically worthless, as the gauge had gone bad. I told my daughter everything was fine as long as she ignored the heat gauge. (Her response was that she already does this. Problem solved. So now I've got a mechanically new motor and ancillary components worth 5000 in a car worth less than 2000. We'll be driving this thing till the wheels fall off.
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I had a Subaru legacy blow steam while my daughter was driving it. No matter what I did, it kept overheating. I got on a discussion board and everything said the head gasket on that car is notorious for blowing. So I bought a used engine lift, a stand, a head gasket kit, all new everything, since I was taking it out anyway. Strangely, I saw no evidence of a problem with the head gasket. Anyway, 5000 later and a few days off work I got it all put back together (with new radiator, and coolant bottle that was missing. Started it up and still read boil over on the gauge. I finally, in despair took it to a shop (sweating the whole way that the head gasket was going to blow when I stopped. I got there and had them spray the radiator before I dared shut it off. They put their computer on it and the guy was watching it from under the hood, waiting for it to overheat. I happened to get in the car and the gauge was pegged on red. I got out all excited and told him it was doing it RIGHT NOW! We looked at his screen, and it was sitting right around 190, and you could literally see when the thermostat opened and it cooled off a little. Turned out that the actual problem had been the missing coolant overflow bottle, and everything I did was basically worthless, as the gauge had gone bad. I told my daughter everything was fine as long as she ignored the heat gauge. (Her response was that she already does this. Problem solved. So now I've got a mechanically new motor and ancillary components worth 5000 in a car worth less than 2000. We'll be driving this thing till the wheels fall off.
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jeremy
Cheap box spanners are great for sensors. You can cut them down to fit and you haven't broken anything decent. Have a few cut and tagged for different vehicles, saved so much time compared to struggling to get spanners or deep sockets in. I swear engine designers want you to strip half of it down to get to sensors these days. To get to the thermostat housing on my current Ford you can either strip the power steering pump off, drain the rad and remove it just to give you the space or you take two minutes to remove the headlight assembly and voila, the housing is directly in front of you. Takes a maximum of half an hour that way including draining and refilling the cooling system. Madness.
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Cheap box spanners are great for sensors. You can cut them down to fit and you haven't broken anything decent. Have a few cut and tagged for different vehicles, saved so much time compared to struggling to get spanners or deep sockets in. I swear engine designers want you to strip half of it down to get to sensors these days. To get to the thermostat housing on my current Ford you can either strip the power steering pump off, drain the rad and remove it just to give you the space or you take two minutes to remove the headlight assembly and voila, the housing is directly in front of you. Takes a maximum of half an hour that way including draining and refilling the cooling system. Madness.
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Kevin
It looks like that sensor was, as you alluded to, designed to act as the sensor for the PCM and the gauge cluster. Older GMs that used this same engine (which may have still existed when this car was made) did not use class 2 data to run the gauges, they used connections to the engine, so it may have just been a matter of the engine being built as a complete package (including the harness) and having different body harnesses. Its easier to build one engines/trans package complete with harness than to build different setups for different cars
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It looks like that sensor was, as you alluded to, designed to act as the sensor for the PCM and the gauge cluster. Older GMs that used this same engine (which may have still existed when this car was made) did not use class 2 data to run the gauges, they used connections to the engine, so it may have just been a matter of the engine being built as a complete package (including the harness) and having different body harnesses. Its easier to build one engines/trans package complete with harness than to build different setups for different cars
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Alonzo
Okay Eric Steve I forgot your name brother but anyway nice job on that Buick century with the temperature sensor outstandingoutstanding in that that mystery green wire takes you to the out the to the twilight zone there Steve make Steve me Eddie anyway South main you and misses all y'all be doing it and baby girl she coming up the back okay you'll have a beautiful time man I enjoy your program outstanding absolutely outstanding
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Okay Eric Steve I forgot your name brother but anyway nice job on that Buick century with the temperature sensor outstandingoutstanding in that that mystery green wire takes you to the out the to the twilight zone there Steve make Steve me Eddie anyway South main you and misses all y'all be doing it and baby girl she coming up the back okay you'll have a beautiful time man I enjoy your program outstanding absolutely outstanding
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Satobatsu
That dark green wire is a test point. Factory tech can test the engine temps and confirm that the gauges and displaying the correct information. This is a computer practice in computer module designed.
My old Buick PAU normal running temp is 220 deg F.
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That dark green wire is a test point. Factory tech can test the engine temps and confirm that the gauges and displaying the correct information. This is a computer practice in computer module designed.
My old Buick PAU normal running temp is 220 deg F.
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autos
Imagine having a car that runs an electric motor with no valves, no exhaust system etc. So much easier to to run. It's like the horse and carriage days. Some people can''t move on to the inevitable future. Companies are complicating the horse.
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Imagine having a car that runs an electric motor with no valves, no exhaust system etc. So much easier to to run. It's like the horse and carriage days. Some people can''t move on to the inevitable future. Companies are complicating the horse.
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Chad
Having similiar issue wth my 00 buick century 3. 1. Could this malfunctioning sensor also affect shifting? When i drive at highway speeds the engine stays cool and shifts fine, but when i drive in the city it heats up and shifts rough & jerky.
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Having similiar issue wth my 00 buick century 3. 1. Could this malfunctioning sensor also affect shifting? When i drive at highway speeds the engine stays cool and shifts fine, but when i drive in the city it heats up and shifts rough & jerky.
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Deeez
My 04 temp gauge shows that it gets hot (doesn't reach the H) while idling but goes back down to normal level when the engine is in motion. I recently got the radiator fluid flushed and there aren't any leaks. Could the thermostat be bad?
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My 04 temp gauge shows that it gets hot (doesn't reach the H) while idling but goes back down to normal level when the engine is in motion. I recently got the radiator fluid flushed and there aren't any leaks. Could the thermostat be bad?
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Robert
Or you could stick bad sensor in some hot and cold water.
My buick temp sensor is starting to die. every couple months I get a temp out of range code. At least it isn't buried like that one.
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Or you could stick bad sensor in some hot and cold water.
My buick temp sensor is starting to die. every couple months I get a temp out of range code. At least it isn't buried like that one.
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Kevin
Love how they always find the most difficult place to put a sensor that obviously will some day need to be replaced. I couldnt be a full time auto mechanic. Envy your patience.
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Love how they always find the most difficult place to put a sensor that obviously will some day need to be replaced. I couldnt be a full time auto mechanic. Envy your patience.
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